Should we keep the money we found?

[Exboltqueen]

This morning at soft play Ds found four £1 at the bottom of a slide. He was really excited but I explained how it wasn't ours and it had fallen out of someone's pocket and we handed it in to the reception. Unaware of the £4, on the way home DH found £100 in rolled up notes. He stood there for a while and didn't see anyone looking for it. I feel like it's good karma and we should keep it. My husband thinks we should give it to the police. (We are low income so feels like a lot of money)
So
YABU - you should practice what you preach to your son, hand it in.
YANBU - enjoy the good karma and keep it

To be prosecuted for theft, does it need to be clear that someone specific lost it?

I'm thinking in the example in the store, it obviously wasn't hers and could only belong to a limited number of people easily identified by Cctv. Whereas I once found a very soggy £20 beside a canal on a rainy windy day. No one else about. If a Police Officer had seen me pick it up and pocket it and had run over to arrest me for theft, they'd have no idea who I was Cctv of their money, or could have been dropped any where at any time.

Finders keepers 😎

I vaguely remember seeing something about this on QI a few years ago ("finders keepers"). I think Stephen Fry said that legally you had to make a reasonable effort to get it back to the owner. If something has been abandoned you can keep it. Or something like that. I think someone got 'done' for pocketing a lottery ticket and I remember something about the police being pretty heavy handed with a woman who picked up a £20 note. I'm sure someone on MN will remember more accurately. So keeping this money is not legal.

Anyway, morally it is not yours, so you should hand it in IMO. The owner may need that money desperately. But even if it belonged to the Queen IT IS NOT YOURS. It's pretty hypocritical to teach your child something that you don't abide by. Do the right thing...

Karma?

Hand it in!!
I think you knew we'd all say this.
Do the right thing, hand it in to your local police station.

May well belong to some other low income little old lady / single parent

Sadly you already know what to do, or you wouldn’t be looking for justification. Hand it in and if you choose to believe in karma it’ll be there in 28 days xx

It's called theft by finding. You should hand it in to the police.

Its a bit hypocritical of you to teach your child to hand back £1 he found then have the audacity to even think about not handing in £100. Whether you are on a low income or not doesn't entitle you to their and yes keeping it is a criminal offence. Our local Facebook police group just reported on a woman who did just that she found £50 on floor near cash machine and kept it. Police traced her through CCTV and found her it had come from an elderly woman who was living on bare essentials and who hadn't been able to put electric on because she'd lost the money. That woman was charged with theft by finding and sentenced to 3 month due to the fact she was a petty offender already. Sorry but if you keep it then you have no right to teach your children anything you are defo being unreasonable.

@GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing

How on Earth can you expect a child to hand in £4 and then pocket £100 yourselves???

The same way you make your child eat vegetables and then have a McDonald’s for tea yourself. When you teach your child to only cross at traffic lights but sprint across roads yourself.

You teach them the right thing to do as children and then they can make their own decisions as adults

@Jowel

It's called theft by finding. You should hand it in to the police.

There is no such thing as theft by finding money on the road

When I was a student, my grandfather once very kindly loaned me £200 towards my rent.

Being a stupid student, I owned a stupid rucksack with a stupid hole in the seam, through which (stop me f you've heard this one before) the envelope fell.

To say I was beside myself is putting it lightly: fortunately, some very kind soul found it and handed it in, intact, to the police (I knew roughly the route I had walked, in a small city, so could contact the offices).

Unfortunately, they didn't leave a name or address, but I think of them regularly and their kindness and honesty.

Be that person, OP, that a former stupid student still thinks of with gratitude 20+ years later.

@mountbattenbergcake yes there is, and it has been prosecuted

Wow! 😲
That you even had to ask, astonishes me.
I never hand found item into police - many reasons why not. I put it on social media without full description or amount and it has to be described for me to send, meet or deliver to the person who lost it.
I found an iPhone on a train with tickets and bank card in the cover.
It was open so I called the last number who was a friend of the owner (16yr old) Gave my number, owner's mum rang, gave her details and I sent it later on after work.
Another mobile found on forecourt of petrol station. Scrolled through contacts. One was SOCO which I knew was scenes of crime officer. Rang. It was their friend. Arranged meet following day as I was Warrington, they Manchester.
She brought flowers and card. I know how honest I am but no idea how honest others would be to pass it on. I like to know owners received item asap.

@RosieLemonade

One time someone returned my purse I had left on the bus but took the cash out. That was all the money I had for Christmas presents. Wonder whether that is good or bad karma?

I found a wallet with lots of other things in, but no cash. Handed it in.

So the person who handed it in might not be the same person who took the cash.

Awww hand it in!!! How can you say this karma to keep it?! If you believe in karma, it’s BAD karma to keep it!

I found a wallet when I was in my 20s, I worked in a theatre. Nobody was around. I was tidying up after a show. It was under the seat. It had about 750 cash in it. I handed it in.

A few days later a huge bunch of flowers arrived to work. It was a lady’s rent money and she had been so distressed to realise she’s lost it. We had found her through her ID and left messages that her wallet was safe. It was so so so so nice of her to acknowledge it, it just solidified it in my head.

What did you do, OP? Have you handed it in or kept it?

@Jowel

It's called theft by finding. You should hand it in to the police.

Thank you Jowel - I knew someone on MN would know

I found a wallet with lots of other things in, but no cash. Handed it in. So the person who handed it in might not be the same person who took the cash.

Exactly, if you're going to steal someones money you're most likely going to ditch the purse.